Consumer TechConsumer technology is going to exist indefinitely, perhaps for as long as the human species exists. At CleanTechnica, we try to feature consumer technologies that help to reduce global warming pollution and other types of pollution. For example: electric cars, solar panels, bikes, energy efficient appliances and electronics, and green smartphone apps. Keep an eye on this category for all sorts of fun and cool, helpful consumer technology.

Top 50 Solar Energy Stories Of The Year (Part Five: #41-50)

(If you’ve read the intro 4 times already, just skip to the final 10 articles.) We’re trying to get more solar energy stories going over on Planetsave. To catch readers up, I’m doing a short series on the top 50 solar energy stories of 2013 so far. Learning from the Top 33 EV Stories article I recently published, I’m splitting this one into 5 posts. Otherwise, the page would take forever to load. Plus, it’s easier to swallow 10 at a time.

It’s pretty hard to actually rank these top 50 articles, so I didn’t even try. The list is in no particular order. The numbers are basically just for referring people (your friends, family, coworkers, etc) to specific stories you think are worth highlighting. Don’t forget to do that! Once the posts are up, I will add links here:

Having home solar panels installed by leasing them from third parties has grown like wildfire in the US, particularly in states with their own government incentive programs. On February 13, Sunrun, a pioneer in third-party solar leasing, and solar photovoltaic (PV) market data provider PV Solar Report, announced that third-party-owned solar pumped more than $938 million into California’s economy in 2012, a record-high annual amount equal to that of all the previous five years combined.

Third-party solar energy system leases now account for nearly three-quarters (74%) of California’s residential solar market, according to Sunrun and PV Solar. A market research report released last August revealed that solar leasing had added more than $1 billion to California’s economy since being introduced in 2007.

As no surprise to anyone who follows this matter, LBNL still concludes that the massive price differences above are basically due to soft costs. But the updated study also digs into the reasons why the soft costs are (or might be) so much lower. As LBNL rightly noted, relatively little has been known about how or why various soft cost differ.

43. Value of Distributed Solar Power & Value Of Solar Tariffs Get Attention

Simply looking at the price of solar panels or solar power systems — and how that compares with the prices of other options — is not really the best way to evaluate whether or not we (individuals, companies, cities, societies) should go solar. The full costs and benefits should be examined. Unfortunately, a lot of the benefits have been ignored for a long time (and far beyond the environmental and climate benefits). Evaluating the “value of solar” has begun to catch on, and some cities are actually implementing “Value of Solar Tariffs,” but sometimes coming to wildly different conclusions. Have a look at a few recent stories about this:

In an effort to raise the awareness of just how much potential our planet has to produce renewable energy, the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) has launched the first ever online Global Atlas of renewable energy resources.

Within a decade, 300,000 megawatts of unsubsidized local solar power could compete with utility electricity prices in almost every state, enough clean energy to produce 10% of U.S. electricity. Grid parity is building like a relentless wave, but how much solar is at parity today? In 2016? In 2020? On homes or businesses? With incentives or without?

“California achieved a major milestone when it crossed 1 GW of installed solar power capacity through the California Solar Initiative (CSI) recently. The initiative accounts for about 50% of the total solar power capacity installed in California.”

49. Solar + EVs = Everyone’s Doin’ It!

I know, that title didn’t make sense. But I think you got the point. You probably noticed #14 on this list, that 39% of California electric vehicle owners have solar power systems. But this second-to-last item goes a bit further. It gets into some major partnerships that have helped create that stat, as well as ones that have come together because of the synergy between solar power and electric vehicles. Here are a handful of the stories to which I’m referring:

About the Author

Zachary Shahan spends most of his time here on CleanTechnica as the director/chief editor. Otherwise, he's probably enthusiastically fulfilling his duties as the director/editor of Solar Love, EV Obsession, Planetsave, or Bikocity. Zach is recognized globally as a solar energy, electric car, and wind energy expert. If you would like him to speak at a related conference or event, connect with him via social media.
You can connect with Zach on any popular social networking site you like. Links to all of his main social media profiles are on ZacharyShahan.com.

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